Musicians make joyful noise at bishop’s ordination Mass

Members of a children’s choir made up of Catholic school students performed several songs during Bishop Spalding’s ordination Mass, including an original song by St. Henry Church parishioner Carol Ann Jones. Photo by Theresa Laurence

The Diocese of Nashville showed off its Music City bona fides during the ordination and installation Mass for Bishop J. Mark Spalding on Friday, Feb. 2.

The music for the Mass included an orchestra of 12 professional musicians, a choir of 95 people from parishes throughout the diocese, the Dominican Schola of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, a choir of children from the diocese’s elementary schools, and a song written specifically for the ordination and installation – “Be Our Shepherd” – by Carol Ann Jones.

Bishop Spalding thanked everyone who was part of the music for the Mass. “Truly in the shadow of Opryland,” he said, “we have shown once again this is Music City.”

Bringing the music together for the Mass fell to Mary Corby, director of music for St. Henry Church in Nashville.

Bishop J. Mark Spalding, left, blesses members of the choir during the ordination Mass at the Catholic Pastoral Center on Friday, Feb. 2. Photo by Rick Musacchio

In preparing for the Mass, Bishop Spalding indicated he wanted “things that are singable and people can participate in,” Corby said. “I was thinking of shepherding songs and praising songs. We just had to do those, and thanksgiving.

“He actually asked for ‘Holy God We Praise Thy Name,’ which we did at the end,” she added.

Jones, a music teacher at St. Henry School and a former professional songwriter, provided a Nashville touch with a song she wrote for the new bishop, “Be Our Shepherd.”

A committee at the school was preparing a welcome video for the new bishop and asked Jones to write a song for the students to sing.

“I took about five steps out of the office and ‘be our shepherd’ popped into my head. I said this is it,” Jones said. “I said a little prayer and said, ‘OK Holy Spirit tell me what to write.’ I wrote it all in one night.”

Cantor Victor Leonor of St. Joseph Church in Madison leads the congregation in song. Singers from parishes and schools across the Diocese of Nashville participated in the music program for Bishop Spalding’s ordination.Photo by Rick Musacchio

Jones played the song for Corby, who immediately wanted to include it in the music for the ordination Mass.

“She asked, ‘What do you think?’ I thought oh my gosh, we have to sing that,” Corby said. “It’s so moving. It’s perfect.”

The song was performed by a choir of Catholic elementary school children. As Jones was accompanying them on guitar, a string broke and the students had to finish the song and sing the next one, “Lord, I Need You,” a cappella.

“I heard a pop. I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Jones said. “The kids just went with it. … Then everybody started singing along, which was great.”

“That was one of my favorite parts,” Corby said.

One of the goals in preparing the music was to be inclusive, Corby said.

“At the very beginning I emailed a bunch of the music directors and said can we get together and do this as a group,” Corby said.

One who responded was Jeff Hall, the music director at St. Joseph Church in Madison. “He’s done this a couple of times before. He was really helpful in guiding me through it,” Corby said.

Hall wrote some of the arrangements for the music and helped conduct the orchestra along with Joel Bolen, the music director at St. Matthew Church in Franklin. The orchestra was made up of musicians in the group Royal Music Guild.

Some of the parish music directors sang in the choir, many suggested other members of their parish choirs to sing in the 95-voice choir at the ordination Mass. “We could have filled that whole place with people who wanted to sing,” Corby said. “It was a joy getting all those people together.”

The oldest member of the choir was 94-year-old Otto Werrbach of St. Joseph, Corby noted.

Corby also asked the Dominican Sisters to be part of the music, and a choir of sisters sang “Non Nobis Domine” as part of the prelude, and later sang “Veni Creator Spiritus” during the ordination rite itself.

“It was an amazing experience,” Corby said. “I’m filled up with gratefulness.

“It is a huuuuuuge job though,” she added. “It helped to take some of the pressure off to divide it up a bit. … We have so, so, so many excellent musicians, we’re blessed.”